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Are you affected by the IVF postcode lottery?

Couples hoping to apply for IVF treatment to help them get pregnant may be refused even if suitable under official guidelines, a study has found.

The report, carried out by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infertility, used Freedom of Information requests submitted to all 152 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to establish what restrictions were in place for IVF treatment for couples trying to get pregnant.

Official guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) released in 2004, suggest that women aged 23 to 39 should be offered three cycles from the NHS.

However, according to the report, only 27% of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) offer infertile couples all three cycles, while others offer fewer or even none. Many are imposing their own strict limits on who can receive the treatment. Women are being turned down if they are considered too young, too old, overweight, smokers, or even if the father already has children.

This means that many desperate couples are to only have one or two chances of getting pregnant before they have to pay for private treatment or consider other options such as adoption.

The report also found that five trusts – Warrington, North Yorkshire and York, West Sussex, Stockport and North Staffordshire – do not offer IVF at all.

The IVF recommendations made by NICE are guidelines only. In response, a Department of Health spokesman has said: “The NHS is making good progress in implementing NICE guidelines and in providing fair and consistent access to IVF.”

Tell us your thoughts?

Have you been affected by this lottery? Do you feel every woman struggling to conceive should be offered 3 chances of IVF free on the NHS? Tell us in the comments box below:

My husband and I are currently having fertiltiy investigations, but if we are required to have IVF, which is looking very likely as we have a diagnosed male factor problem, we will be affected by the postcode lottery. We are under Warrington PCT but are seeing a fertility consultant at the Liverpool Women's Hospital.
On recieving my husband's diagnosis (low sperm count, with poor motility & morphology) the consultant told us our best option would be IVF with ICSI, if we lived in Liverpool or the surrounding area we would be entitled to 2 rounds of funded IVF. As funding isn't available to us, we have gone for an alternative option, where my husband is currently taking a course of anti-oestrogens in order to hopefully improve his sperm count. We've been told this has a 1in3 chance of this having any effect, but will not necessarily increase our chance of concieving.
I think until you have been through the heartache of infertility, no one can truly undestand how it makes you feel. To be told funding has been suspended in order to save costs as it isn't a medical need is insulting. My husband has done nothing to cause his infertility, yet others that drink heavily, over-eat and have generally poor lifestyles that lead to diabetes or heart & lung problems are treated without a second thought.
I don't necessarily think all women should be given 3 full cycles, as that is extremely costly to the NHS, but it shouldn't be a lottery as to whether you get 3 or none. If funding is tight then I think all women should be given at least one funded cycle and it should at the least be equal across the board.
We're lucky in the fact that we will be finacially able to fund our first IVF cycle privately, but my heart goes out to others that just by living in the wrong postocde should have to go without!

Me and my partner have been trying to conceive for around 5 years now and it is depressing. Apparently because my partner has children from previous relationship we do not qualify for ivf even though i do not have any children. I had to have 1 of my fallopian tubes removed do to it being blocked with fluid and i can ovulate without assistance. I think this free ivf treatment should apply to people who deserve it and have no other way of funding for it. I agree with a previous comment I do not think everyone should qualify for 3 lots of this treatment as it will cost too much but they should be able to have at least 1. It is really depressin me because I know i will not conceive without treatment. Hope everyone finds away to conceive. Good luck!!

We too have been affected by the post code lottery. I was on the pill for around four years & then came off it 6 & a half years ago...since then me & my partner haven't used any kind of contraception with no joy of pregnancy. We are both now in our late twenties. We always thought it was something to do with me but the tests I had didn't come back with any complications, well until last year when I scan had revealed that I had a number of follicles on my ovaries that was done 2 & half years previous (long story)! My partner had a sperm analysis just over a year ago & that revealed he has only 1% morphology (should be at least 4%). I luckily have been able to have the investigations on the NHS because I've also had funny periods, bleeds when ovulating (which I now know is normal) but my partner had to pay for his sperm analysis which was a lot of money for handing a sample to the receptionist & not even meeting the consultant! My doctor wasn't able to mention anything to with infertility because of the stupid post code lottery, so I haven't been checked for everything. We were all ready set to save up/get a loan for IVF last year until I went to see my doctor (about something different) & she said they've been trying to contact me because the post code lottery has now ENDED :) & we may be able to get some help! We have now applied for IVF & are just waiting to hear back. We are still saving as we know it's not a guarantee we'll get it & if we did there's a chance it wouldn't be successful. I think every struggling couple should get one free cycle...it's not fare that some couples can have three & some one, or has been none!

Me and my partner have been affected by this too. He already has children and even though I don't we have been refused any treatment as we are not a "childless couple", we have even been refused any investagitive treatment to find out what the problem is! We have been ttc for well over a year now and it is very upsetting. When we were talking with the doctor he even tried to make me feel bad, whilst I was crying and saying I didn't see how that was fair, by asking who I thought should receive treatment, me, or a patient in need of cancer treatment! Should we not all receive treatment if we need it, whatever we need it for? We have paid into the national health service all of our working lives so why should we not receive the treatment? We all know why our NHS is so stretched to the limit, perhaps the government should deal with these issues rather than hard working honest people who shoud be entitled to help being refused it!